Chapter Sixty-five
Town Square
Rainbow Dash
I barely slept through the rest of the night. My mind was running over all the information Vi had given me in his last visit to my mind. I just ended up tossing and turning most of the time, occasionally blacking out for an hour or two, but waking up more tired than I had begun with. Finally fed up with trying, I just whittled away the final hour to dawn by sharpening and cleaning my broadsword. I hadn’t used it for serious battle for quite some time, so the edge benefited from the attention. However, my battle skills were sharp as ever, since my training with Applebloom and Scootaloo had kept me on my toes more and more lately. The two were getting stronger, and I looked upon them proudly as they gradually begin to change into a serious force, especially when working together.
As soon as the first rays of daylight began to filter in through the window affixed to my wall, I stood and made my way out the door, searching for the others. I figured they would gather in the obvious place- town square- so that’s where I went. It was just about as early as possible for me to be starting, and I was still dead-tired, but I knew trying to get sleep would still be pointless. At least my destination was far enough away that I would have been forced to camp once, maybe twice on the way down, so I would have another chance to get some sleep before engaging in any combat.
I trudged into the square, squinting to see if I had guessed right and- if so- if anyone else had come yet. At the edge of the square, I saw what I was sort of looking for: Twilight was also awake and ready to go, sitting next to her belongings at the front step of the library. Spike stood next to her, arms crossed in concentration. I could tell the two of them were talking, perhaps arguing, and I decided it best to linger at the other end where I was until things died down.
“Twilight’s angry at Spike.” I almost jumped, and Rarity walked up behind me, dressed in full armor. If she wasn’t well-rested, she didn’t show it. “For not being there for her when she was so upset, I mean. On the plus side, it looks like she might be starting to recover, but she’s realized that Spike should have been there.”
I nodded solemnly. Twilight had been in rough shape these last few weeks, and all her friends- surprisingly including myself- had been worried for her, but didn’t know what to do about it. I had made the single visit first to try and tell her that we were all on her side, but I probably wasn’t the best person for the job. Fluttershy and Pinky had also paid her a visit later, but I hadn’t yet had a chance to ask how it went.
“You listen in on them?” I asked, somewhat surprised. It certainly didn’t sound like something Rarity would do.
“Nah, that was me.” Another voice said, and Rarity’s cat girl companion Opal strode in behind us. She wore some basic armor herself, a small knife strapped to her belt. Otherwise, she carried no weapons. “Wouldn’t want something like that on Rarity’s conscience, so I usually do the dirty work like that.” She stretched and smiled. “Ah well. May as well do what I love, and love what I do, right? I’ve always been the stealthy one in Icarus.”
“So, Dash...” Rarity started. “Er... would it be alright for me to ask how things went in your dream last night? I mean, that’s why we’re here, right? Because we all had dreams about it?”
“Yup.” I answered simply. “Don’t worry, I’m not offended or anything. My brother was the one to deliver the message. I’m heading off to the capital of Dusk. Not sure who’s coming with me. You?”
“Mom.” She said, dropping her voice. “We’re heading back to the Castle of Dawn- that is, me, Opal, and whichever other Element is headed there too.”
“Twilight’s going somewhere in Eclipse, if you were wondering.” Opal added cheerily. I didn’t speak for a moment. So that’s Twilight and Rarity not on my team. That leaves Pinky, AJ or Fluttershy to join me. I nodded as happily as I could considering what we were preparing to do. I wouldn’t mind any of the three I had remaining to be stuck with, and I wasn’t really sure which I would have preferred. They were all great company, and I had traveled with Applejack all over already, plus I knew I could count on her when it came to fighting or an honest opinion. Pinky was reliable when it came to fighting as well, but I wasn’t nearly as experienced with fighting alongside her. If it ended up being Fluttershy, I would have to take care to safeguard her, but having her with me wouldn’t be bad either; we would just have to be more strategic regarding her abilities.
“Hey, we’re... we’re done.” Twilight called tersely from across the square. Opal, Rarity and I nodded silently and crossed the clearing. Rarity sat next to her on the steps, but Opal and I remained standing awkwardly. Spike looked like he’d rather be anywhere else right then.
“Are you alright, dear?” Rarity asked. “We’ve been worried about you...”
“I’m still confused as hell...” Twilight muttered bluntly. “But I’m done hiding from the problem at least. We’re going on this quest in part to find ourselves, through our ancestors, right? That’s exactly what I think I need right now. I need some profound truth to follow, and I have a feeling I’ll find it out there.”
I nodded at her, giving her a small smile. We may not have gotten along very well, but I still thought of her as a friend. Seeing her starting to recover herself still made me feel better myself, even if I couldn’t stand her sometimes. Despite the argument the two probably just had, Spike and Twilight both agreed that they should travel together. The five of us waited around for several more minutes, until we were joined by Pinky and Applejack. Neither Twilight or Pinky had been visited by an actual person, and I realized Vi was right: neither of them had ever known any of their real family, and were only delivered the message by a voice.
Applejack had been visited by her mother, who had died of sickness six years previously. She seemed affected by this sudden revisit, both overjoyed that she had a chance to speak with her again, but sad that it would probably be the last time. I wished I had been traveling with her, but her path had led her with Rarity and Opal back to Dawn. I could tell she wished she was going with me as well- or anyone but Rarity, the two were about as different as physically possible- but digressed and moved her things next to her companions’. The voice that visited Pinky had instructed her to go to the same swamp in Eclipse that Twilight was headed for, so that left Fluttershy for my group.
“Geez, I’m anxious about this...” Pinky said. “I... I haven’t ever met anyone related to me. I had a family, yeah, but I’ve never had any kind of ancestry even one generation back. At least Twilight could find her parents if she wanted to, and she did run into her sister... I have no idea what to expect, but I’m sure excited to find out... Hey, completely unrelated to the topic, but... You know that boy from the Silver Arrows- Kyle?”
“Yeah.” I answered. “You know he’s totally in love with you, right?”
“Was that supposed to be a secret?” She responded with a chuckle. “Of course I know that. I’m just waiting around for him to admit it. I wanted to check to make sure I wasn’t the only one... Fluttershy?”
I turned as Pinky mentioned Fluttershy, following her gaze back to the entrance to the square. Sure enough, she stood, head down, at the entrance, with Angel at her side. Both looked ready to go, with Fluttershy’s bow across her back and quiver at her belt, as well as some heavy clothing. In addition for the need for armor, it was quite cold out, and away from the natural heat of the town, it would be even colder. Angel wore some admittedly cute winter gear, but still held his comparatively huge scythe beside him.
My eyes widened and I jogged over to her when I realized she wasn’t moving, and looked like she had been crying. Angel stood defensively by her side, holding her hand lightly, but I mostly ignored him. Spike was there a moment later, followed by everyone else. She was asked what was wrong, but remained silent, too upset to speak.
A horrible thought occurred to me just then. Rarity and Applejack both got visited by their mothers, and they are on the same team. Twilight and Pinky were only addressed by a voice, and they are traveling together as well. I was visited by my brother, and Fluttershy is going with me, so... “Oh no... Fluttershy, did... is it...?” I took a step back respectfully. “Creiddylad?”
Fluttershy shivered slightly, then nodded once. “She... She’s gone... It was the same as your brother, Dash...” I averted my eyes and glared at the ground. Celestia took another one... She has to be stopped, now more than ever. Especially for hurting Fluttershy. I noticed Spike move over and embrace Fluttershy comfortingly, and she finally broke and began to cry into his chest. I also noticed a distinct look of annoyance and distrust cross Twilight’s face, but she righted herself quickly.
With everyone gathered, and after Fluttershy had recovered and insisted that she would be alright, all nine of us set up on the steps to the library to make an action plan. Each team had decided to bring an additional ally with them for backup and reassurance, and Angel was tagging along with my group. I wasn’t sure I particularly liked the idea, since Angel was technically still a kid and not as skilled with his weapon; but Fluttershy was confident that he could hold his own, so I supposed I didn’t have much else to say. I had a feeling he was coming more out of emotional support than tactical, but he wouldn’t slow us down much either way.
“Alright, Fluttershy.” I said, after the three groups had broken off to form their own individual plans. “Dusk is pretty far away, but we lucked out with who got put on this team. We should be able to fly the whole way and really cut down on travel time. Angel’s small enough that he can ride on my shoulders, so bringing him isn’t a problem. Still, it’s at least a full day and a half to get there flying, so we’ll need extra rations. Now for when we get there, you should both just leave most of the fighting to me. You’re getting better, and Angel’s not half bad himself, but I should lead the way.”
______________
“Castle of Dawn’s just like we left it.” Applejack stated. “So’s the path to it. Which means we’re still gonna have to take the backroads, since the main road got collapsed last time. I can’t guess what we’ll find in that ruin that we didn’t find last summer though.”
Rarity responded thoughtfully. “My mother didn’t say it was in the castle exactly; she only said it would be at the capital of Dawn. Is it possible what we’re looking for is in what is left of the outlying city?”
“A thieve’s paradise, I’m told.” Opal mused. “That is, when there aren’t supposed dark overlords holed up in the castle. We’ll have to dig for it, if it’s out there.”
______________
“So, here’s what we know so far...” Twilight said, laying out several maps and other papers on the steps. “I know exactly where this swamp we’re visiting is: right here.” She pointed to a place on the map. “Now, I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve never heard of any kind of hidden stronghold in this area. This either means that the base is extremely well hidden... Or not much of it exists anymore.”
“Uh... I just had a thought...” Spike started. “I’m not sure that used to be a swamp back when people would have been using that stronghold. What would we do if it’s underwater now?”
“That is a possibility...” Twilight thought, rubbing her chin, mind in overdrive with thought. It may have been a grim affair, but having a problem like this and the chance to solve it again was somewhat exciting. Twilight was back in business. “But I don’t think we’re being led on a wild goose chase. Even if the base is submerged now, there must be a way to get into it, or the part we need to be in at least.”
“Maybe there’s a way to get it un-drowned?” Pinky offered. “Like, maybe it’s some of that old technology that they don’t use anymore. There might be a switch or input device or something that drains the lake to different parts of the swamp, or raises the rock under the base!” Pinky felt proud of her idea, but just got strange and bemused looks from Twilight and Spike. “What? It could happen! Maybe we’ll even have to play a song to do it! I’m telling you, it could totally happen!”
_______________
With what little pre-planning we could do already done, the three teams set off for opposite ends of town, preparing to begin the full journey. We were in the region that was once Dawn already, and Applejacks’, Raritys’ and Opals’ trip would be the shortest; only around a day at max. Dawn stretched around the eastern edge of Equestria, reaching all the way to a slim finger at the northern edge. Old Eclipse made up the large north eastern section, reaching all the way from Dawn’s border to the opposite coast. The swamp Twilight’s group would be traveling to was situated to the central-west of Eclipse, so their trip would take two days or more on foot.
Dusk made up the largish southwestern region, and it’s former capital city sat rather close to the edge, but not at seaside. This made my journey the longest distance-wise, but since we could fly, Fluttershy and I would be able to make the journey in half the time. The three of us- two children of air, one Scrabbit from a land far across the sea- stood at the western gates to town, our belongings hanging at our belts, and some carefully situated between the joints of our wings.
“Hop on, kid.” I said cheerily, dropping to a crouch so Angel could find a place to sit on my shoulders. He cast a furtive glance at Fluttershy, who nodded reassuringly, then scrambled up my backpack and onto the small of my back. I stood again, using one hand to help him keep balance, the other hand on my belongings on my hip. I turned to my companion, we nodded silently, and kicked off into the air.